Pump for concrete and analogous plastic mixtures



y 1935.. c. F. BALL l PUMP FOR CONCRETE AND ANALOGOUS PLASTIC MIXTURESFiled May 26, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 9, 1935. c. F. BALL PUMP FORCONCRETE AND ANALOGOUS PLASTIC MIXTURES Filed May 26, 1953 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Y 1935- c. F. BALL PUMP FOR CONCRETE AND ANALOGOUSPLASTIC MIXTURES Filed May 26, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 9,1935 PATENT caries PUMP FOR CONCRETE AND r As'rIo MIXTURES ANALOGOUSCharles Ball, Milwaukee, Wis assignor to Chain Belt Company, Milwaukee,Wis, a corporation or Wisconsin Application Ma '26, 1933, Serial No.673,058

" 8Clairns, (01. 103-10 This invention relates to pumpsfor concrete, andother plastic mixtures havingsimilar char acteristics, and moreparticularly to certain improvements in the constructionof multiple unit,3: pumps of the type. shown, for example 'in my prior U, S. applicationfiled August 19, 1931, Serial No. 558,175, entitled Concrete pump,wherein I have disclosed and claimed a double cylinder pump constructionprimarily intended for the handling of concrete and other similarplastic mixtures.

Concrete, in the true sense ofthe word, is a plastic mixture of greateror less fluidity, comprising a binder, such as a paste of; water andPortland cement, a fine aggregate such as sand, and a coarse aggregate,such as gravel or crushed stone, which latter may run up to two, andonehalf inches or more in greatest dimension. This mixture is to bedistinguished from mortar jor grout, which may contain the sameconstituents except that the coarse aggregate is omitted, and

i from slurry, which is a thin, easily ilcwable mixture oi cementandowater. i l Plastic cement mixtures, after the hydration of thecement is completed and the well known chemical reactions take place,constantly tend to harden and set, but in the normal operation ofpumps'such' as those disclosed in my said prior application, so long asthe mixture is kept in motion, this characteristiclis not "particularlydetrimental to the pump. Under certain abnor-- malconditions, e. g.wherethe machine is irequently stopped for varying periods of time, orthrough other causes, portions of the mixture may adhere to the walls ofthe chambers and passages, and harden sufficiently to form a basis forincreasing accumulations which may eventually render one or morecylinders of the pumpinoperative. In such event, itis highly desirabletobe able to block off the non-operative unit or'units while the remainingones continue to function, and to obtain ready access to the obstructedcham-, bers and passages for the purpose of removing the obstructions.Such access isalso ,desirable for the purpose of efiecting a thoroughcleaning at the conclusion of a pumping operation.

It is therefore one object of the present inven tion to provide aconcrete pump construction having a plurality of working cylinders, orpumping units, in which provision is made iorindependently blocking offeach-unit, whilethe remaining units may continue topoperate, and also topro-" vide means for affording ready access to the cylinders andpassages of each unit so thatobstructions thereinmay be quickly removedwhen the unit is blocked off. In thelpresent instance, the

blocking off of any particular unit is accomplished through positivelyholding its inlet valve closed, thereby cutting off the feed of themixture to that unit, and enabling the chamber to be opened and'cleanedwhile the remaining unit or units 5 continue to function as usual.

, It has furthermore been found highly desirable, if notalmostessential, in the pumping of concrete and similar mixtures, that priorto the beginning of the pumping operation, either clear 10 water or athin, readily flowable slurry of cement and water be passed through thesystem to wet and in efiect lubricate the surfaces of the pump chambersand passages, and of the discharge line.

Likewise, at the conclusion of a pumping o-pera- 15 tion, it isdesirable to be able to force clear water throughjthe apparatus to flushit out. Although this may be accomplished through the use of separatewater pumps, it greatly facilitates matters if the concrete pump, inaddition to being able to most effectively handle concrete, can alsoeffectively pump clear water. When pumping concrete the pump valves mustof course be capable of passing the largest aggregates which will beencountered, and when open must providepassages of say at least threeinches, whereas such, openings, of the inlet valves at least, willrender .the pump very inefiicient, if not wholly inefiective, forpumping water and slurry.

It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide apump primarily designed forthe'handling of concrete mixtures, in which Ithe travel of the valves, more particularly the inlet valves, to and,from theirseated, complete-, 1y closedpositions, may be quickly andeasily varied to enable the machine to efliciently handle clear water.Also, by adjusting the valve travel to points intermediate those bestsuited for the handling of concrete and of water,grout and slurry mayalso be pumped with a maximumefiiciency.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceedsthe invention consists in the novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts more fully here- 45 inafterdescribed and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 1

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming apart of thisspecification in which like ref- 50 erence characters designate likeparts in all the views:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View, partly broken away, of a portion ofa double cylinder reciproeating piston, pump of the type shown in mysaid prior co-pending application, and constructed in accordance withthe present invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale,taken approximately on the plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 1,looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view through a portion ofthe working cylinder, valve chambers, and discharge passage of one ofthe units of the pump, taken approximately on the plane indicated by theline 3--3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view through the outlet valve, takenapproximately on the plane indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 3,looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more particularly to the said drawings the pump, as was fullydisclosed in my said prior application, No. 558,175, is preferablymounted on a chassis frame I which may be supported upon suitable wheelsII for the sake of ready portability, and which frame carries arotatable drum I2 for receiving pre-mixed concrete and maintaining thesame in completely mixed condition through its rotation, which may beaccomplished through suitable driving connections i3 from a motorcontained within the housing I4. The contents of the drum I2 areconstantly fed toward the left as viewed in Figure 1 and discharged intoa distributing or feed chest I5, the lower portion of which isbifurcated to provide the downwardly extending passages I6 and I1leading respectively into the inlet valve housings I8 and I8 whichcommunicate with the working cylinders I9 and I9 and are provided withthe heavy rubber or other resilient seating rings 26 and 29'respectively, surrounding the inlet ports 2I and 2|, as clearly shown inFigures 2 and 3. The said ports 2| and 2I are controlled respectively bythe hollow valve balls 22 and 22 which act as inlet check valves forpermitting the mixture to pass from the passages I6 and H to therespective working cylinders as the pistons in the cylinders I9 and I9alternately move backward, and preventing the return of the mixtureupwardly into the said passages as the pistons move forward.

As best shown in Figure 3, the inlet valve casings I8 and I8 communicateby means of short connections 24 with outlet valve housings 25 throughports 26, which are preferably surrounded by resilient seating rings 21,similar to the rings 20 and 20', and arranged to coact with the hollowvalve balls 28. The outlet valve housings 25 are provided with dischargepassages 29, which communicate with cut-off valve housings 30, in whichare mounted suitable cut-off valve members 3i. These valves mayconveniently take the form of manually operable slides having ports 32which may be moved into and out of alinement with the passages 29 topermit or prevent the passage of the mixture, as will be readilyunderstood; and beyond these cut-off valves there is preferably provideda fitting 33 which carries an air dome 34 as is fully disclosed in mysaid prior application. Beyond the air domes 34 the discharge pipes 35of the units preferably join into a common discharge conduit which maybe extended from the point of pumping to the place of use. This generalconstruction as thus far described, with the exception of the cut-offvalves 3i, and resilient valve seats 20 and 27, is substantially thesame as that disclosed in my said prior application No. 558,175.

It will be understood that in the normal operation of the pump, as thepistons within the cylinders I9 and I9 are alternately reciprocated theysuck the concrete mixture from the chest I into their respectivecylinders, past the ball check valves 22 and 22', upon their backwardstrokes, while upon the forward or working strokes the mixture thusdrawn in is forced out of the working cylinders through the passages 24,the inlet valves such as 22 and 22 at this time seating against theresilient rings 28 and 20' to close off the respective inlet ports.

As above indicated should one or more of the pumping units be renderedinoperative due to a hardening and building up of portions of theconcrete mixture in the valve chambers, that particular unit may beblocked off for cleaning purposes through a positive holding of theinlet valve ball such as 22 or 22 against its seat, thereby preventingfeed of the mixture to that particular working cylinder and enabling thesaid valve chamber to be opened up and cleaned out. The mechanism hereshown for accomplishing the positive holding of the inlet valves inseated position to block off a unit comprises rods 36 and 36' whichextend upwardly through the bottom of the valve housings I8 and I8through suitable glands or stufiing boxes 31 and 3'! and the outer endsof which rods are connected through links 38 and 38 with arms 39 and 39carried by jackshafts 40 and 40' journalled in suitable bearings 4|, 4|and 42 and 42'. The other end of the said shafts 40 and 40 carry handlevers 43 and 43' having associated with them latching mechanism hereshown as comprising dogs 44 and 44' carried by the said hand levers, andtoothed sectors 45 and 45 rigid with the bearings 42 and 42', wherebythe said levers may be maintained in a number of different positions asrequired.

When a hand lever such as 43' is in its lowermost position as isindicated at the right of Figure 2, its rod 36 is likewise in a loweredposition, thereby permitting the inlet valve ball such as 22' to open tothe extent necessary to permit the passage of the largest aggregateswhich may be contained in the mixture. On the other hand, by raising ahand lever to a position such as is shown for the lever 43 at the leftof Figure 2, through the shaft 40, arm 39 and linkage 38, the rod 36will be forced upwardly to positively hold its inlet valve ball such as22 firmly seated against its resilient seat 20, thereby cutting off thefeed of the mixture from the passage I6 of chest I5 so that the workingchamber constituted by the cylinder I9, valve housing I8 and connection24, may be opened up and cleaned out without shutting down the pumpcompletely, but permitting the other unit or units to continue inoperation.

In order to aiford ready access to the valve chambers the housings I8and I8 are preferably provided with clean-out openings 5!) which arenormally closed by covers 52 readily removably retained in position byclamping members or bars 53 engageable with the said covers and whichbars are preferably pivotally secured to the valve housing as by links54. The said bars 53 are provided with heads 55 which are passed throughopenings 56 in yoke members 51 which are likewise pivotally mounted onthe valve housings, and wedges 58 are driven in behind the heads 55 tofirmly lock the parts in closing position, as will be readily understoodfrom Figure 2.

When it is desired to remove one of the closures 52 for cleaningpurposes, the wedge such as 58 is knocked out of the yoke member 51,thus permitting the head 55 to be disengaged from the said yoke andwithdrawn from the opening to the positions shown attheleft: ofnFiguref2.

. The I closure member 52 "may then i be withdrawn from the clean-outopening. 50wand' access' ob-i tainedto the interior'of. the valvehousingf i i For the purposes of guiding the inletvalve balls such as22and 22' each closure membersuch as 52 maycarry a valve guiding'memberlfifl while The valve guides 60 carried by the clean-out closures'52 ofcourse will be removed with the said closures and if for any reason itbecomes necessary to remove the valve balls when the pump is completelyout of operahousing 25 is preferably provided with oppositely tion, theymay be easily withdrawn through the 1 openings 50 with this guide member60 out of the Way The outlet valve housings 25 are also preferablyprovided with clean-out openings whereby access may be readily attainedto the valve chambers thereof and for the purpose of removing the outletvalve-balls such as 26 when desired. As best shown in Figures 3 and 4each outlet valve disposed clean-out openings 66 which are normallyclosed by removable closure members 61 which are similar in constructionto the closures 52 above described. These closures 61 are normallyretained in position by pivoted clamping bars 68 engaged with yokes 69andwedged in position by wedging members In in a manner 1 similar tothat described in connection with the closures 52. The valve housings 25may be provided with oppositely disposedvalve guide members H and eachclosure member 61 may be provided with a guide member 12 for guiding andretaining the valve ball 28 in operative position.

The manually operable cut-off valves 3| above described are provided inorder to prevent'reverse flow of the mixture which has been forcedbeyond the outlet valves 28 during such time as a unit may beinoperative for cleaning purposes. When a slide member 3| is moved so asto bring its port 32 out of register with the passage 29,obviouslyreverse flow of the mixture which has passed the said outletvalve will be prevented and the clean-out'closures 61 of the dischargevalve housing may be removed and the valve housing thoroughly cleaned.

The feed chest l5 may also be provided with clean-out openings 86 ineach of its legs, which are normally closed by closure members 8|retained in position by locking bars 82 which in turn are locked againstdisplacement by manually operated nuts 83 engaging threaded studs 84.The said chest may be provided witha readily removable cover 85 as bestshown in Figures 1 passages render the pump highly ineflicient if notwholly ineffective for the handling of clear water and slurry. .On theother hand, if the levers 43 and 43' be moved upwardly to elevate therods 36and 36 so as to cut down the valve travel and provide valveopenings of say one-fourth to onethe"pump,-valve housing, and dischargeline sure faces-and also to flush out the system at the con 1 clusion ofa? pumping operation, as above de scribed. In like manner if thetravelofthe valves 22 and 22" be adjusted to points intermediate-thosebestsuited for. the handling of water pump'to "most-effectively handlemortar or grout mixtures. .1

lt is obvious thatthose skilled in the art-may varyjthe details'of'construction as well as the precise arrangement of parts withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and therefore it is notwished to be limited to the above disclosure except as may be requiredby the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Ina pump'for concrete and the like, having a plurality of pumpingunits each provided with an inlet valve automatically operable inresponse to movement of the pressure member of the pump, the combinationof means for holding each of said valves closed at will to stop thefunctioning of its unit while the remaining unit or units may continueto function. a 2. In a pump for concrete and the like, having aplurality of pumping units each provided with a gravity controlled inletvalve, the combination of means for positively holding each valveseated, against the action of gravity, to stop the functioning of itsunit while the remaining unit or units may continue to function.

3. In a pump for concrete and the like, having a plurality of pumpingunits each provided with an inlet-valve, an outlet valve, and dischargeconnections leading from said outlet valves, the combination of meansfor holding any of said inlet.

valves closed to prevent the entrance of the material to the unitcontrolled thereby while the remaining unit or units may continue tofuncvalves closed to prevent the entrance of the material tothe unitcontrolled thereby while the remaining unit or units may continue tofunction; cut-off valves in said discharge connections beyond saidoutlet valves for preventing back-flow of the material from thedischarge line ma nonoperating unit; and readily removable meansnormally closing said clean-out openings and affording ready access tothe valve chambers of a unit for cleaning, when its inlet and cut-offvalves are closed.

5. In a pump for concrete and the like having a working cylinder, aninlet valve chamber provided with an inlet port, and a valve in saidchamber for controlling said port, the combination of a member extendinginto said chamber and engageable with said valve; and means operable atwillfor moving said member to cause it to hold said valve in closedposition to positively cut off the feed of the material to said chamber.

6. In a pump for concrete and the like having a working cylinder, avalve chamber provided with an inlet port, and a check-valve ball insaid chamber for controlling said port, the combinahalf inchrthe pumpmayl be effectively used for handling clearwater and slurry and forcingit: through the system to initially wet and-lubricate tion of a memberextending through a wall of said chamber and engageable with said valveball; a manually operable lever exterior of the chamber for moving saidmember to a position to hold said valve ball seated; and latch meanscarried by said lever for holding the parts in said valve seatingposition.

7. In a pump for concrete and other similar materials, a working chamberhaving an inlet port; a valve for controlling said port; means forlimiting the opening movement of said valve; and

manually operable means exterior of the pump for adjusting said limitingmeans to change the V distancesaid valve opens to enable the pump tomost eflfectively handle materials of different consistencies orcomposition.

8. In a pump for concrete and other similar materials provided with achamber having an inlet port; a valve for controlling said port, saidvalve being arranged to open a predetermined maximum amount for thehandling of concrete containing large aggregates; and means operablefrom the exterior of the pump, arranged to reduce the degree of openingof said valve to enable the pump to most efiiciently handle grout,slurry, or water.

CHARLES F. BALL.

